The present invention relates to operator seats for bi-directional work vehicles and, more particularly, to a mechanism for automatically repositioning an operators seat to provide clearance for operator egress from the work vehicle when the seat is not occupied.
Many work vehicles, such as a tractor with a rear mounted backhoe, are operated by from a single operator location having a seat offering multiple seating positions. At least seat one position is required allow the operator to face forward for front forward operation of the vehicle and at least one seat position should face rearward to allow effective operation of a rear-mounted implement or for operation of the work vehicle in the rear-forward direction. Two seats could be provided to accomplish this objective, but a single, movable seat is more frequently employed.
An operator typically enters and exits the operator platform from a location ahead of the vehicle rear wheels. Space in the operator platform area may be limited on smaller work vehicles leaving little clearance for operator ingress/egress, especially on work vehicles having a relatively narrow rear wheel track measurement.
It would, therefore, be a great advantage to provide an improved mechanism for a movable seat for use on a bi-directional work vehicle that would not only allow the seat to be positioned for forward or rearward operation, but also be easily movable into a position that maximizes an operator ingress/egress path on the operator platform, especially when operating the vehicle in the rear-forward orientation. Still further advantages result from a moveable seat mechanism for a bi-directional work vehicle that automatically repositions the seat for increased operator ingress/egress clearance as an operator leaves the seat in preparation to exit the work vehicle.